Inmate escapes from Cook County boot camp for 6 hours

Jamall Allen was arrested after he had escaped from the Cook County Sheriff's boot camp program where he was an inmate. He was found about six hours later.

Jamall Allen was arrested after he had escaped from the Cook County Sheriff's boot camp program where he was an inmate. He was found about six hours later.

Carlos SadoviTribune reporter

A 20-year-old Chicago man who had 72 days left to complete his sentence at the Cook County Jail's boot camp, scaled a barbed wire fence Sunday and managed to escape for about six hours before investigators tracked him down, officials said.

Jamall Allen, who plead guilty in October to residential burglary, bolted from the jail grounds about 11 a.m. today, said Frank Bilecki, spokesman for the Cook County Sheriff's office.

"The odd part about this whole thing is he had just 72 days left of his stay in boot camp," said Bilecki. "He would have been a part of society."

A judge sentenced him to boot camp for non-violent offenders where prisoners are provided with substance abuse treatment, counseling and access to job training programs, said Bilecki.

After Allen was to be released, he would have had to check in daily with jail officials but would be free to work or go to school, Bilecki said.

It appears that Allen may have scaled the barbed-wire fence. The investigation is continuing, said Bilecki. Officials do not believe anyone else was involved.

About two dozen sheriff's officials were able to track Allen down and they found him at about 5 p.m., Bilecki said. He was found less than five miles away, but officials would not say exactly where Allen was found.

No one was injured and Allen did not pose a threat to the public, said Bilecki.

The charges related to the escape are pending, said Bilecki.

"Now he's probably looking at additional time at the Illinois Department of Corrections," said Bilecki. "He had a few hours out on his own and he probably regrets that right now."